Kuwait Red Crescent confirms moving forward with expanding partnerships to enhance its role in serving humanity
By Ayoub Khedaj, Beirut, Sept 26 (KUNA) -- The Kuwait Red Crescent Society (KRCS) reaffirmed its commitment to advancing its national readiness, expanding humanitarian partnerships, and strengthening its international presence, in line with the established humanitarian approach of the State of Kuwait and to enhance the Society’s role in serving humanity wherever needed.
Speaking to KUNA on Saturday during his participation in the 12th Regional Conference of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies in the Middle East and North Africa, hosted in Beirut, Dr. Nasser Al-Tanakh, Vice Chairman of the KRCS Board of Directors, said the Society “places great importance on participating in the regional meeting to engage with our humanitarian partners, exchange ideas that strengthen our humanitarian and relief roles, coordinate efforts to develop our services for our communities—especially during difficult times and circumstances—and deliver optimal performance in emergency situations.”
Al-Tanakh added that the Society “strives to maintain its active presence at meetings of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, the Arab Crescent and Red Cross Society, and various humanitarian forums, exchanging experiences with sister national societies and supporting joint coordination in disaster response, volunteer work, humanitarian financing, and capacity building.”
He stressed the importance of this participation in regional and international meetings, noting their role in unifying and coordinating efforts and improving performance to achieve more effective humanitarian work that serves local communities and supports humanity wherever needed.
In his address during one of the conference sessions, Al-Tanakh outlined the KRCS’s journey over the past two years, a period during which the Society sought “to combine the continuity of its humanitarian and relief role abroad with strengthening its national readiness and developing its institutional framework in accordance with the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.”
He noted that on the humanitarian and relief level, the Society continued its response to crises and disasters in several countries, prioritizing the most affected and needy areas, foremost among them the occupied Palestinian territories. The Society intensified its efforts to support the population of the Gaza Strip through relief campaigns, dispatching urgent aid, and facilitating air and land bridges in coordination with official authorities and sister national societies, alongside studying and implementing projects in health, shelter, water and sanitation, education, and direct relief.
He pointed out that the Society continued providing humanitarian support in several Asian and African countries through medical and relief aid, as well as health and social projects, in cooperation with national societies and specialized humanitarian organizations.
On the health front, Al-Tanakh said the Society “has paid increasing attention to developing its interventions, moving from traditional relief aid to more sustainable programs that include supporting health facilities, providing medicines and medical supplies, contributing to the treatment of patients, and studying the establishment of field medical capacities that can be utilized in disasters and emergencies.”
He highlighted the KRCS’s efforts to expand cooperation with sister national societies and international humanitarian organizations, developing memoranda of understanding and partnership programs in disaster preparedness and risk reduction, health, community resilience, and capacity building, including continued cooperation with several national societies in Asia and the Arab region.
He noted that on the national level, enhancing emergency readiness has been one of the core pillars of the Society’s work in recent periods. In this regard, it raised its preparedness to handle emergencies in coordination with state agencies, prepared shelter sites, provided basic needs and medical supplies, and allocated necessary resources for rapid response.
Al-Tanakh pointed out that these efforts included “recruiting and sorting more than 100 volunteers, organizing teams to work in shifts, and activating specialized teams in first aid, field response, and disaster management, thereby enhancing the supporting role the Society plays alongside official authorities in the State of Kuwait.”
He said that in the field of local work, “the Society continued its social and humanitarian programs targeting families and the most needy categories within the State of Kuwait. These included food, educational, and health aid, among other forms of support, while simultaneously developing the regulatory and supervisory frameworks governing the provision of such aid to enhance justice and transparency, preserve the dignity of beneficiaries, and ensure that donations are directed to their intended purposes.”
He clarified that on the institutional level, the KRCS has, over the past two years, “reviewed and developed several internal regulations and financial and administrative systems, strengthened governance and supervision mechanisms, reorganized certain competencies and committees, and worked on developing the administrative structure, salary scale, and internal control mechanisms to build a more efficient and sustainable institution capable of responding to growing humanitarian demands.”
He noted that the Society contributed to national efforts related to organizing and protecting the Red Crescent and Red Cross emblems, and to discussing legislation governing charitable and humanitarian work, driven by its commitment to aligning national regulatory requirements with the Society’s special nature as the National Red Crescent Society of Kuwait and a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement.
He affirmed the Society’s focus on developing its capabilities in innovation, training, and the use of modern technologies, including training projects using virtual reality technology to enhance the efficiency of staff and volunteers and strengthen their readiness to handle disaster and emergency scenarios.
He noted that the Society launched a Mental Health Office in February 2026, a step taken as the third national society in the region to do so. It also established an AI-powered response service to calm citizens and residents following air raid sirens triggered by the recent Iranian aggression.
Al-Tanakh said, “What has been achieved over the past two years was not merely an expansion in the volume of activity, but part of a strategy aimed at developing the Society’s humanitarian work model, combining rapid response, quality implementation, governance, sustainability, and the strengthening of national and international partnerships.”
He added, “On this occasion, the Kuwait Red Crescent Society reaffirms its commitment to the principles of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, foremost among them humanity, neutrality, impartiality, independence, unity, and universality. It is keen to continue cooperating with sister national societies and exchanging experiences with them to enhance our collective capacity to respond to growing humanitarian challenges.”
Al-Tanakh concluded his presentation by emphasizing the KRCS’s continued development of its national capabilities and capacities, expansion of its humanitarian partnerships, and strengthening of its international presence, building on past achievements to serve and realize the “established humanitarian approach of the State of Kuwait and enhance the role of our national Society in serving humanity wherever needed.”
For his part, Dr. Hossam El-Sharqawi, Regional Director of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies for the Middle East and North Africa, told KUNA, “This conference convenes at a highly difficult stage for our region. While wars, conflicts, and disasters have divided us, our shared humanity unites us today under the umbrella of the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies. These societies are present on the ground in neighborhoods and streets, working daily to meet humanitarian needs and hasten relief and service to every person in need during critical conditions and times of crisis.”
He added, “The humanitarian role of these societies and their convergence on a noble goal—serving humanity and protecting life—contribute to building bridges between peoples and states through humanitarian action.”
He pointed out that the societies meet every two years to discuss various issues in the region, and their current meeting “comes at a sensitive time for the region, which we address with the seriousness and attention our humanitarian mission demands.”
It is worth noting that the Kuwait Red Crescent Society is participating in the conference, whose closed sessions extended for two days on Friday and Saturday, through Dr. Nasser Al-Tanakh, Vice Chairman of the KRCS Board of Directors, and Dr. Mohammed Al-Mutairi, Advisor to the Chairman of the Board.
The conference, hosted by the Lebanese Red Cross in cooperation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, discussed topics including volunteer safety and partnerships within the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. (End) A.Y./A.M.S.
